


Love, Hatred, and Indifference

by dejiko001



Category: Demashitaa! Powerpuff Girls Z
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/M, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Romance, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-22
Updated: 2013-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:40:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22488814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dejiko001/pseuds/dejiko001
Summary: When it came to that feeling called "love," three emotions existed. Those emotions were called love, hatred, and indifference. Every female experiences this feeling called "love" for someone special at one point in their life. The only question left is who would be the one that would catch them when they fall.Three one-shots: RRBZ x PPGZ.
Relationships: Akatsutsumi Momoko/Brick, Boomer/Goutokuji Miyako, Butch/Matsubara Kaoru
Kudos: 17





	1. BLUE: The Meaning of Love

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Demashitaa! Powerpuff Girls Z! or any of its characters in these three one-shots. If I did, I would've let RRBZxPPGZ be canon and fill the anime/manga with so much of RRBZxPPGZ that it would be suffocating and just fangirl/fanboy-worthy for all fellow fangirls and fanboys out there of these pairings.
> 
> Anime/Manga: Demashitaa! Powerpuff Girls Z!  
> Overall Title: Love, Hatred, and Indifference  
> Rating: T for Teens (13+)  
> Overall Pairings: RRBZ x PPGZ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One-Shot Title: BLUE: The Meaning of Love  
> Genres: Romance, Hurt/Comfort  
> One-Shot Pairing: Boomer x Miyako / Bubbles

A blonde female around the age of sixteen stared at the door of the store. Her eyes fluttered shut upon sighing for the umpteenth time that day. She adorned a light blue blouse, a blue skirt, white socks, and black dress shoes. Her light blue blouse hung loosely around her torso, hiding any hint of possible upper body curves, whereas her skirt reached to a bit over her knees. Overall, the outfit complimented both her pale skin and her light blue eyes. Her light blonde hair was even tied up in two pigtails that reached to her shoulders, adding to her beauty.

She was standing behind a simple wooden counter. On top of this counter was a register that was quite worn out. However, the store she was in had flowers in pots almost everywhere. It had just enough space to the point of where customers could come in and walk around. The door was always left open, letting out the aromas of the flowers inside of the store. Outside of the store laid flowers in pots that hung from the sign.

"Miyako."

The blonde known as Miyako turned her head around to find a dark brunette in her mid-thirties. Her eyes were a light shade of brown, but they contrasted her skin perfectly. She was narrowing her eyes at the blonde while frowning.

Despite this, Miyako asked, "Yes, ma'am?"

"You don't need to help, you know."

"But I want to, though."

Her eyes began to soften. "Miyako, don't you want to hang out with—oh, wait, what were their names, again?" There was a slight pause before she smiled and stated, "That's right! Momoko and Kaoru! Don't you want to go hang out with them? You know, go to the mall, go shopping—all of that other teenage girl stuff high school students do nowadays. Why would you bother to stay in this shop with someone like me?"

Miyako laughed softly. "Kaoru-san is grounded."

"Oh, what did that girl do this time?" The woman asked, smiling.

"She broke her skateboard."

"That's it?"

Miyako smiled even more while her eyes began to glow with amusement. "That, and she also broke one of the windows with a soccer ball."

The dark brunette began to howl with laughter. After calming down, she asked, "And Momoko?"

"She's also grounded."

"Really? What for?"

"She didn't clean her room, so she's stuck there until she cleans it, along with the rest of her house."

Chuckling, the dark brunette replied, "That's so like Momoko. Well, I hope they drop by soon. I'm going to go put the boxes of seeds in the backroom."

"Do you want me to do that?"

"No, it's fine. Besides, with a face like yours, we'll attract more customers that way," she added, smiling.

Miyako's eyes went wide. "Oh, no, I think you're mistaken."

"Miyako, you've only been helping me out for a few days and yet you're oblivious to see that boys that pass by this shop ogle at you?"

"Well, I'm aware of it, but—"

"Case closed, then!"

And without another word, the dark brunette left the blonde alone.

Miyako sighed softly to herself. In all honesty, she's been aware of the attention that she has always gotten from the opposite gender. Actually, it had always been like this, even during elementary, which was also when she had met Momoko and Kaoru. However, there was only one boy that truly won over her heart.

As Miyako began to walk out of the store, her mind began to wander off. Her thoughts led her to a messy dirty blonde haired boy that had deep cerulean eyes. Once she was outside of the store, she glanced up at one of the pots. Grabbing a watering can from indoors immediately, she began to water the flowers.

Memories began to fill her mind. Thoughts began to cloud her emotions. At once, she felt a lump in her throat, but she held it down. That was the past. She knew better than to think about it, especially out in the open. Yes, she should've known. She should've known that her love was unrequited. It was so obvious.

And yet, she refused to believe it because a small part of her hoped that it was otherwise.

* * *

A blonde male, around the age of seventeen or eighteen, was walking along the sidewalk. He wore a blue plaid and checkered button shirt that was completely open, revealing the white wife-beater he had on underneath. Of course, that also revealed his fit body to everyone that bothered to look at him, especially those of the opposite gender. He was completely oblivious to this as he stared at the cement of the sidewalk. His jeans were completely black whereas his tennis shoes were blue, matching his plaid shirt perfectly.

He blinked his blue eyes as he glanced towards the red street light. Glancing around, he found that the females near him were staring at him. He sighed softly to himself, now completely aware of the attention he was getting. Scratching his head, he stared at the red street light, inwardly hoping it would hurry and change.

At once, it did and the blonde man began to briskly walk across the street, wanting to avoid the attention of the females. He had already gotten enough when he was out of the house and smiled at all of them, but honestly, he was utterly annoyed. There were times of when he and his two elder brothers wouldn't mind the attention, but there were times of when it certainly went overboard. Unlike his brothers, though, he was less likely to snap and would simply smile at the female population to get them to go away.

He sighed upon reaching an empty street, finding that he was now able to finally enjoy some peace and quiet. As he turned around the corner of the building, he found a blonde girl outside of a flower shop, watering the flowers. Normally, he would've ignored her, especially since he wasn't in the mood of getting any more attention than he's already gotten (and even if he did, he would've smiled it off somehow), but what intrigued him was the fact that she wasn't smiling.

Instead, her face had on a sad look.

He frowned upon seeing this. Many workers in shops that he had seen usually had the girls smiling or they would have a straight face. However, it wasn't just that. Even from far away, he was able to see the amount of emotion her eyes held. Eventually, he realized that he was already right before her and somehow unconsciously walked towards her.

Clearing his throat, he watched of how the blonde girl was startled. She jumped slightly and yelped softly before turning her head around to face the man. Bowing her head slightly, she stated, "Oh, I'm sorry! May I help you?"

His eyes went wide upon seeing her eyes. He realized that her eyes were a beautiful shade of light blue, something that he also found intriguing about her.

"Miyako! Miyako, where are you?"

The blonde man raised an eyebrow once a dark brunette came out of the store. He watched of how the dark brunette's mouth dropped slightly upon seeing him before glancing at the blonde girl in amusement. His eyes then glanced over at the blonde girl, whose eyes went wide in realization and blushed furiously.

It was then that he also realized that she looked utterly cute when blushing.

"My, Miyako, I didn't know that you were busy today," the dark brunette stated while smiling.

He continued to watch the blonde girl, realizing that her name was Miyako. His eyes scanned her simple clothing, which was none other than a light blue blouse with a blue skirt. To be honest, he found this outfit to be quite attractive on her. He even began to stare at her hair, which looked quite soft. However, he snapped out of his trance once he saw that she was now responding to the dark brunette.

"You got it wrong! I-I just met this man!" Miyako replied, appearing even more flustered.

Score yet another point for the cute category.

"Really?" The dark brunette asked.

Miyako nodded in response.

"Well, then," the dark brunette began before grinning at him.

The blonde man raised an eyebrow at this and asked, "Yes, ma'am?"

"Would you be willing to hang out with her for the day?"

His eyes went wide suddenly at this before glancing at Miyako, who appeared to be even more flustered.

"B-But, I have to help—"

"Oh, hush, Miyako," the dark brunette interrupted before snatching the watering can out of the blonde's hands. Smiling, she then added, "Have a nice time, you two!" Immediately, she closed the door of the shop, making sure to flip over the sign that now said, "Closed."

He watched of how Miyako sighed in defeat and raised an eyebrow at this. "Miyako, was it?"

Her head shot up immediately and looked up at him. "Y-Yes?" At once, she blinked and bowed slightly. "I'm sorry about this. She tends to have these ideas in her head about me and boys, so—"

"Wanna get some lunch?"

He watched of how she blinked dumbly back at him. Another trait that he found to be cute.

"Excuse me?" Miyako managed to ask while blinking.

He grinned at her. "I asked if you wanted to get some lunch together."

"No, it's fine. You don't have to."

"That's all right. How about a walk around the park, then?"

Immediately, she smiled. "Yes, I'd like that."

He couldn't tear his eyes away from that smile of hers. At once, he began to think of one word that perfectly described her.

"I don't know your name, though," she stated, interrupting his thoughts.

"Boomer," he replied, smiling back. "The name's Boomer."

"Boomer-san, is it?"

He chuckled softly. "You don't need to add the honorific."

"J-Just Boomer, then?" Miyako asked, her eyes slightly wide.

The blonde man known as Boomer continued to chuckle. "Come on." He nodded his head in the other direction, smiling still at the blonde female. "The more we waste time standing here, the less daylight we get for walking around in the park."

And so, the two headed towards the park together. Once they arrived at the park, though, Boomer saw of how Miyako immediately went to go sit down on a bench. He didn't understand why, but decided not to ask. So far, during their conversation while they were walking towards the park, he found out that she was only sixteen years old. He asked why she was talking so politely with him and she replied that she grew up to be well-mannered. Of course, he didn't want to push it and ask her more about her family background.

His blue eyes stared at her face, watching of how she continued to stare at the playground that was a mere distance away. At once, he saw of her eyes clouded with such emotion. He didn't like that. Immediately, he asked, "Miyako, how long have you been working at that flower shop?"

Miyako snapped out of her trance and turned her head to face him. "Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention."

He chuckled and sat down next to her. Grinning, he stated, "I asked how long you've been working at that flower shop."

"Oh, I don't work there. I simply help out."

"Is that so?"

Miyako nodded in response, but her eyes soon wandered back towards the playground of the park.

Of course, Boomer noticed this and at once, he asked, "What's so special about that playground?"

Turning her head, he noticed of how despite her smile, her eyes were saying differently. They held a hint of sadness in those light blue eyes of hers. Honestly, he wanted to know what it was that was making a girl such as her so sad, but he knew perfectly well that he shouldn't try to push his luck, especially since they had recently met.

"I had childhood memories here," Miyako replied, still smiling.

"Really?" He asked, smiling. When she nodded in response, he then asked, "Were they happy memories?"

"They were," Miyako replied as she nodded.

His eyes stared straight into hers, knowing fully well that despite what she said, that hint of sadness in her eyes was still apparent. He wanted to know. He desperately wanted to know what was making her feel so sad.

Unconsciously, he began leaning his face towards hers. He felt his breathing hitch, especially upon breathing in her sweet scent. He watched of how her eyes went wide slightly, but she didn't back away. Taking this as a positive sign, he lowered his voice and asked softly, "Then, would you mind telling me about them?"

He watched of how Miyako stared back at him with those eyes of hers and of how she simply nodded. Lowering her voice, she stated, " _Shabon Freedom_."

Boomer blinked a couple of times, but didn't bother to back away and waited for her to continue.

"I…met a boy here when I was young," Miyako stated softly, her eyes looking away from his face. He honestly didn't like that, but decided to let her to continue. Miyako sighed before then stating, "He and I got along well when we were young and, in a way, I fell for him."

At once, Boomer felt a lump in his throat. He cursed inwardly at this. Indeed, he was angry at the fact that the one time of when he was interested in a female (and not the other way around), she ends up having feelings for another. He bitterly thought that it was quite bitter with this turn of events.

"However," Miyako began.

At once, his eyes shot up in hope and his breathing hitched once more. By this time, he realized that Miyako had already backed away from him and was now looking at the playground. He watched of how Miyako sighed softly to herself and of how her light blue eyes held even more sadness than it did before.

She continued to stare at the ground until she finally stated, "I always knew."

There was a long pause, but he could tell. He knew that she was on the verge of crying. He felt anger towards the man that dared to hurt her like this, but made sure not to show this towards to Miyako. Sitting closer to her, he wrapped one arm around her waist, letting his hand rest at her side.

Her head immediately shot up, but her eyes gave away her true emotions.

He saw of her eyes were watery, almost to the point of where tears could come out any second. Lowering his voice, he stated softly, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. You don't need to push yourself." At once, he pulled her closer, enjoying the sweet scent that she had and rested his head on hers.

She shook her head in response and whispered, "It's fine."

There was a slight pause as he continued to embrace her, letting his head rest on hers and having his arms around her waist. Relishing her sweet scent, he began wondering if she would continue or not. He wanted to know. He truly did. However, it wasn't his place to say anything. After all, they had only just met a while ago and he was already intrigued by her. He didn't understand why he was even interested in her in the first place. He and his brothers were so used to being surrounded by females that he always felt indifferent towards them, even though he would always smile at them.

So why was it that this particular female intrigued him?

"I fell for him, but…I had always known," he heard her mutter.

At once, he pulled away, just to look at her face. He saw of how she was still looking away, not wanting to face him. He then whispered softly, "Go on."

"I always knew that it wasn't meant to be, but…I still had hope. Was it so wrong for me to hope? Was it?" By this time, he heard her voice cracking, and as if on cue, as one tear fell down, he felt a drop of water on his head. Immediately, it began to pour rain and everywhere, people started running to wherever there was shelter out of the rain, except for the two.

She quickly stood up, not facing him. He frowned at this and just as he was about to speak, she quickly stated, "I always knew that my feelings wouldn't be returned. I always knew…and yet, I couldn't help but keep hoping that he would feel otherwise."

He slowly stood up, listening to her as the downpour continued.

"All he felt for me in the end…was those for a younger sibling," he heard her mutter softly. Immediately, she whirled around, revealing the mixture of tears and rain on her face. "All I am to him is just a friend…" She shook her head quickly before adding, "No, a younger sister." She hiccuped before then stating, "Is this what it's like to be heartbroken? Because if so, I don't want to feel this way ever again!"

Before the two of them knew it, he found himself to be leaning his head towards her and just like that, the two shared a gentle kiss. His hands were on both sides of her face before they slowly traveled down to her waist. He felt of how she was desperately clinging onto his shirt, and when he pulled away, he saw of how her eyes were open with shock.

"W-What…?" She managed to say softly, raising one of her hands to touch her lips.

Slowly wiping one of her tears away, he whispered, "I may not be him, but I will say one thing. Even if he was your first love, that doesn't mean that you should stay hung up over him." Leaning in once again, he saw of how her eyes widened. He knew fully well that she was thinking that he was going to steal her lips once again. Sighing, he whispered once more, "If anything, you should be happy for him…and I want you to let me in."

"B-But we just met—"

"I don't care. I want _you._ "

He watched of how her eyes just widened before they were on the verge of tears once more. At once, he felt guilty and just as he was going to apologize, he felt her jump towards him and of how her arms wrapped around his neck. Her head was just underneath his and he couldn't help but embrace back, wiping away her tears and kissing her lips over and over in the pouring rain.

* * *

Ever since that day, Miyako always looked happy, attracting even more males to the store. If that didn't boost business, the amount of females that a certain blue-eyed man by the name of Boomer attracted definitely did. He would always stop by and whenever he had the chance, he would always intertwine his fingers into hers, letting her know that he would always be there for her, no matter what. She would always smile back, grasping his hand even tighter before he pulled her in for a kiss.

For the two of them, their love was definitely forever and always.


	2. RED: The Meaning of Hatred

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One-Shot Title: RED: The Meaning of Hatred  
> Genres: Romance, Hurt/Comfort, (Slight) Humor  
> One-Shot Pairing: Brick x Momoko / Blossom

"Welcome, sir! How may I help you today?" a brunette asked, smiling at the male teenager that entered the caf _é._

He grinned before replying, "Table for one, please."

"All right, then. Right this way."

A sixteen year old female with bright orange hair sighed to herself as she rubbed her temples. Her name was none other than Momoko Akatsutsumi. She was working behind the register because, quite frankly, she got tired of smiling happily at the customers. Right now, she was currently working in a café. Since it was a café, that also meant that the shop sold sweets.

Honestly, that was the only reason why she bothered to have a part-time job here.

Now, she loved this job of her. She didn't mind smiling all day long at the customers because they were all there to have a good time. Plus, she even got a discount every time she bought sweets in this café. The only reason why she was even hired in the first place was because of her skills at handling a situation with a customer and of how she's able to cook sweets so deliciously, compared to the other workers.

Well, according to her, "workers" wasn't the right term to use. Because every worker was a female, they all wore maid outfits. White, frilly aprons were adorned at the front, and a black dress was worn underneath. It reached only mid-length above the kneecaps of every working female there. Long white stockings that reached just underneath the kneecaps were also adorned, and each worker was required to wear specially designed black shoes for the maid-themed café.

In short, it was basically a place that guys could go in to ogle at all of the females.

Momoko didn't mind the attention at first. She couldn't help but blush and feel a bit flustered when she overheard boys calling her cute. After all, one of her best friends was so charismatic that she attracted nearly every boy that she's ever crushed on. Her name was none other than Miyako Gotokuji, and her blonde hair, porcelain-like skin, light blue eyes, charming smile, and wonderful personality that resembled that of an ideal girl appealed to almost every single boy. This has been going on since the trio were friends.

Yes, trio.

Momoko has another best friend. The three of them were childhood friends, so they were close with one another. This one was a tomboy, though. Her name was Kaoru Matsubara. Her skin was a bit tanner than Momoko's and the blonde's, and her messy black hair made her look like a male in every aspect. Instead of attracting men, they feared her, and this girl was the reason why most males didn't dare to come near to flirt with the blonde. In order to reach that "nirvana," as the boys would always refer to, they had to go through the "devil." Besides, the tomboy attracted females instead of males, anyway. Most of them didn't know that she was a female. The ones that did, on the other hand… Well, needless to say, it was at first awkward for the tomboy, but it started becoming somewhat of a weekly routine for her to reject at least one of them. Afterward, the tomboy began to shrug it off as though it were nothing.

As for Momoko, she was the girl that most boys thought were crazy. When she was younger, she crushed on many boys, but none of them were serious, except for a boy by the name of Sakamoto. It ended afterward when he started bullying her with his pranks in order to scare all of the girls, except for Kaoru. The next that came was none other than the so-called hot transfer student Natsuki. She crushed on him for quite some time—much longer than Sakamoto, actually. Although he was a jerk, and she couldn't see it back then, she didn't mind because there were times of when he praised her. At this, she couldn't help but fall even more. Unfortunately, having a crush on Natsuki meant getting into pointless arguments that she had with Kaoru. She had always suspected that Kaoru would be stealing Natsuki away from Momoko, and Kaoru would reply back that she had no romantic feelings for the brunet. Afterward, the tomboy added that she never saw Natsuki as a potential love interest, but only as a friend.

Oh, if only the tomboy knew.

At this, Momoko couldn't help but sigh out loud.

"Momoko-san, I'll take over from here," one of the co-workers called, which caused Momoko to snap out of her train of thoughts. "You're wanted in the kitchen. Someone wants one of your specially-made dishes, and he wants you to deliver it to him."

"Did you tell him that it'll take some time, though?" Momoko asked, raising an eyebrow.

The co-worker nodded and smiled before giggling.

Momoko couldn't help but tilt her head in confusion. "Why are you laughing?"

"Well, the customer is really good-looking…and he said that I was cute!" At this, her co-worker began to giggle softly to herself as she started smiling.

Momoko laughed in response before heading off into the kitchen. At once, her train of thoughts resumed as she began preparing the dish.

Kaoru never saw the chemistry between her and Natsuki because she was never interested in Natsuki in that way at all. The tomboy saw him as more of an annoying pest—or in her words, an utter jackass—but nonetheless, Kaoru still hung out with him, anyway. The two became friends after overcoming their rivalry, which always resulted in Kaoru winning and Natsuki getting angry at her victories. In Kaoru's eyes, they were friends—just friends.

She didn't know, though.

The tomboy didn't know that a certain brunet had feelings for her.

She didn't know that at all.

Oh, but Momoko and Miyako definitely knew. It was obvious. The chemistry between the two was undeniable, but the fact that Kaoru doesn't see Natsuki in that way at all made it so the brunet's feelings for the tomboy were unrequited.

Momoko sighed as she finished the dish and placed a cherry on the top.

Even now, she still remembered Natsuki's words when she confessed to him and asked him out. This time, though, she was serious. Whenever she asked out her previous crushes, they were usually her in a lovestruck mode. Her feelings for Natsuki were serious. No matter how much she wanted him to notice her more often instead of Kaoru, she couldn't help it.

Kaoru already won her place in his heart.

Momoko couldn't blame Kaoru. She knew that the tomboy didn't mean to, and she especially couldn't blame Natsuki for falling for Kaoru. Kaoru was the odd girl out of every other girl in the school at the time. Every girl, including Momoko, besides Miyako and Kaoru, was after Natsuki. Natsuki never once showed an interest in Miyako because the two never interacted as much as he interacted with Kaoru. Kaoru was different—much different from Momoko. She was stronger and cooler, and she could actually kick a boy's butt if any one of them crossed the line.

But as for Momoko?

At this thought, the redhead scoffed as she held the dish and a cup of specially made hot chocolate.

If Momoko was in any situation such as Kaoru, she would probably run away instead because she knew that she wasn't as strong as the tomboy. She wasn't as fearsome as the tomboy. She wasn't as cool and amazing as the tomboy.

But she was Momoko.

She learned to accept that.

So, in the end, after she confessed her true feelings for Natsuki, she gave up on love, and as a result, her character changed. She told Kaoru about her getting over Natsuki, but she only told Miyako about what the real reason was. Knowing Natsuki, he probably hasn't confessed to Kaoru yet, and Momoko didn't want to ruin his chances of happiness with the tomboy—even though she knew that the tomboy would flat-out reject the brunet.

"What table was it?" Momoko asked the co-worker.

"Table ten," the co-worker replied before handing the customer his change and smiling at him.

Momoko sighed and headed over to table ten. As she walked over there, she blinked upon seeing that the person sitting there was a seventeen or eighteen year old male. He too was a redhead, but his eyes were completely red. He had on a red cap that was placed backwards on his head, and he had on a red fleece jacket that was open and white wife-beater underneath. His black jeans were ripped at certain parts, but somehow, that made his appearance much more appealing.

The pink-eyed redhead now understood why her co-worker was giggling. Needless to say, the man was handsome, period. The fact that his skin was tan and he had a small scar on his right cheek screamed the image of a bad boy—and a handsome one at that. If Momoko was her old self, she definitely would've started crushing on him, and she would start inwardly—and sometimes outwardly—fangirling as well.

"Sorry for the wait," Momoko stated while smiling as she placed the dish and the cup of hot chocolate down. "I hope you didn't wait that long."

"Actually, I did," the man replied, frowning. "I was expecting the maids here to be faster, but I guess I was wrong."

As the male began to eat, Momoko resisted the urge to have her eye twitch, so she just continued smiling. "Well, I apologize—"

At once, the male cringed and frowned. "This is too sweet for my taste."

Momoko resisted the urge to twitch her eye once more. "Sir, need I remind you that this is a café that you're in—"

"I'm well aware that this is a café. I just didn't expect these to be so sweet."

Momoko continued smiling at him while he stared back. "Sir—"

"Actually, I didn't even order hot chocolate. Why bother giving me it?"

Momoko bit her tongue, not wanting to snap at the male. "It comes with the dish, sir."

"Shouldn't that be 'master?' Or am I mistaken? After all, this is a maid café, right?"

The pink-eyed redhead was getting annoyed.

"Can you take this hot chocolate back? I don't want it. You have coffee instead at this place?"

Actually, make that utterly annoyed and ticked off.

"Take back whatever this is as well. You have anything else that isn't so sweet like this dish?"

That's it.

"Well, excuse me!" Momoko yelled, narrowing her pink eyes at the man. By this time, everyone was already watching the scene. The pink-eyed redhead growled before exclaiming, "This is a café, for crying out loud! If you wanted to go to some expresso place, you should've done that instead of coming here and wasting both of our time! Not to mention the fact that you're wasting food!" At once, she pointed to the dish and the cup of hot chocolate. She furiously narrowed her pink eyes even more before muttering darkly, "You're still paying for it, by the way."

"You know, I expected a sexy girl to come to me," the man replied immediately as he nonchalantly stared back at Momoko. "I was rather disappointed when I saw that it was you." His eyes traveled up and down Momoko's figure, making the pink-eyed redhead flinch slightly and back away. "Yup, totally not sexy."

Momoko growled as she furiously narrowed her eyes at him. "Why, you—"

"Akatsutsumi Momoko, you better not be arguing with one of our customers or that customer's dish is coming out of your paycheck!" Momoko heard her manager say. "And that goes the rest of the maids that aren't working as well!"

At once, the rest of the co-workers went back to work and ignored the scene. Eventually, the customers went back to their conversations and lives as though nothing happened. Momoko, on the other hand, was still glaring furiously at the red-eyed man.

Eventually, the man narrowed his eyes back, frowning.

Momoko scoffed before stomping away in anger. She decided to work in the kitchen instead of behind the counter or as one of the maids because of her foul mood.

Hours passed, and when Momoko came back to clean up after the customers, she saw that table ten still had the cup of hot chocolate and the dish she specially made. She frowned, but she held them up and decided to pack them both to go. If that man wasn't going to eat it, she may as well eat it herself.

She scoffed at remembering his haughty attitude as she heated the cup of hot chocolate in the microwave. When it was finally done, Momoko said her good-byes to the rest of the co-workers and manager before heading off with a box of that dish she made and a cup of hot chocolate in hand.

"For the record, you had that order wrong."

Momoko stopped abruptly upon hearing that voice. She frowned before turning around to find that the same man from earlier was now leaning against the wall near the window of the café. "Wrong?! If that's your excuse for not eating it—"

"The feeling is mutual here, but there's no need to snap at me, red," he responded, narrowing his eyes back at her. "I'm not the one that had the order wrong now, did I?"

"What?! You never said—"

"I ordered lemonade and a box of strawberry shortcake to go."

Momoko narrowed her eyes. "Then why eat—"

"Because I've never been in this freaking café before, you idiotic girl. I don't know how your freaking strawberry shortcakes look like."

Momoko scowled as she narrowed her eyes. "What about the hot chocolate?!"

At this point, the man was no longer leaning against the wall, and he was now facing Momoko with narrowed eyes. "I said that I never asked for the hot chocolate, damn it!"

"It went with the dish! It was free!"

"I'm not into eating sweet things!"

"Then why bother eating the dish I specially made?!"

"I told you already, damn it!" At once, the man blinked and frowned. "Wait, specially made?"

Momoko frowned. "You didn't see that on the menu?"

"No. I meant how the hell is it specially made if everything you guys make there is made by, well, you guys?"

Momoko scowled at this. "It's specially made because I'm one of the best cooks there! I work both as a maid and as a cook!"

"Well, for a cook, you're sure a lousy one. That damn dish of yours didn't taste that well, and this is coming from a guy that doesn't tolerate sweets."

Momoko flinched at this and fell silent. Her eyes stared at the pavement of the sidewalk. Could it have tasted bad because she was reminiscing about Natsuki and his feelings for Kaoru and that feeling of how rejected she felt? She always had this instinct that Natsuki had feelings for Kaoru, but…she never expected it to come true, and honestly, she didn't want it to—at all.

"Hey, you're not crying, are you?"

Momoko raised her head, but she couldn't find her voice. Her vision was blurry, and nothing came out of her mouth. All she felt in her throat was a huge lump.

That's when she felt it: a tear drop falling down her cheek and onto the ground. Before she knew it, more and more began to fall, and Momoko couldn't help but lower her head and let it fall. She began to curse herself for this, and she inwardly scolded herself for even thinking about the past, anyway. It's been about three years already, for crying out loud, so why was she even crying?

"Hey."

Momoko didn't bother to look up. She felt her lip tremble as she recalled Natsuki's face when she was confessing. He wasn't surprised at first, but when he realized how serious she was, his expression fell rather blank. It was only when he mentioned Kaoru that his face lit up, even though he too knew that he was forever friend-zoned by the tomboy.

"Hey…"

At this point, Momoko looked up to find that the red-eyed man was staring at her. His eyes somewhat softened, but she could tell that he felt rather awkward. When Momoko tried to speak, hiccups came out instead, and at this point, she couldn't help but cry out loud. She was surprised to find that the cup of hot chocolate was now nowhere in sight and that she was surrounded by some sort of warmth. When she looked up again, she found that the red-eyed man was sipping from the cup and embracing her.

Momoko let out a couple of sniffles as she stared at the red-eyed man. When he glanced down, she flinched and embraced him as well, letting her arms envelop around his torso and having her head against his chest. She continued to sniff, but she was aware that her cheeks felt somewhat hot as well. Last time she remembered, she hadn't blushed like this in so long…or felt this comfortable when it came to hugs.

"Feeling better now? You're getting my wife-beater all wet."

At this, Momoko felt her cheeks go even hotter as she backed her face away to find that she was indeed one layer away from seeing his chest. But she knew. She knew from the hug that the man was physically fit. If appearance didn't prove it, hugging him definitely did. Momoko backed away and looked at the ground, not bothering to respond.

She hesitated, but managed to speak softly, "Sorry about that. And, um, sorry about today. I guess one of my co-workers mixed up the table orders or something…"

"It's fine," she heard him reply. "Whatever made you cry must've affected your cooking as well."

"Y-Yeah, sorry about that," Momoko replied as she looked up.

The man shrugged in response, and once he finished the cup of hot chocolate, he crumbled the cup and threw it into a nearby trash can. It landed successfully in, and he grinned at the result. "Score!"

Momoko giggled softly.

When she looked at him, she saw that he was staring at her.

Before she could even ask, she felt herself pulled into another embrace, except that this time, his arms were around her waist. She felt her face against his chest again, and she couldn't help but blush.

"For the record, though, about that hot chocolate? Yeah, it didn't taste so good."

Momoko glared at him before playfully slapping his arm.

The man chuckled and grinned in response. "Brick."

Momoko blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Brick. My name's Brick," he replied before he then added teasingly in syllables, "Mo-mo-ko-chan."

Momoko felt her cheeks heat up again. "Jerk."

Brick chuckled once more in response.

"Akatsutsumi, that hot chocolate and dish you made is still coming out of your paycheck!" the manager dryly called from inside the store.

Momoko's jaw dropped. "Dang it!"

At this, Brick couldn't help but laugh even more at Momoko.

* * *

Ever since that day, Brick stopped by the café daily, making sure to annoy a certain pink-eyed redhead named Momoko. The two got into arguments every single day to the point of where sparks seemed as though they were flying between the two—literally, but everyone knew their real status.

In front of the outside world, they were two people that seemingly hated each other.

In private, they were the most affectionate couples ever.

After all, ever since that day, they both found a reason to be happy when it came to love.


	3. GREEN: The Meaning of Indifference

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One-Shot Title: GREEN: The Meaning of Indifference  
> Genres: Romance, Hurt/Comfort, Humor  
> One-Shot Pairing: Butch x Kaoru / Buttercup

A black-haired teenager around the age of sixteen sighed bitterly as she stared out the window of her bedroom. Her light green eyes stared boringly at the birds that were perched on tree branches just outside her window. The two birds were chirping happily, and from the looks of it, the teenager could see of how they weren't siblings, but instead friends—or perhaps even more than that. A frown formed upon her face before she let out yet another bitter sigh for the umpteenth time that day.

It was as though everything was taunting her—no, mocking her.

She scowled as the birds began to scoot even closer to one another. Just as she was about to open the window to shoo them away, a loud motor from a nearby motorcycle scared the two birds off instead. The teenager rolled her eyes before closing the curtains of her window and going over to her bed to lie down. Her light green eyes stared at her ceiling for a while before she groaned, turned to her side, and scoffed.

Today was just not her day.

She shouldn't be bothered by it at all, though. Normally, she doesn't really care. The teenager wasn't grounded, but she just forced herself shut inside her room to allow her to contemplate on what just happened—both today and the entire week so far.

Momoko and Miyako, her two childhood friends, were annoying her over the phone to get a boyfriend already. Because the two both had one—both of their boyfriends were ironically brothers—they thought that because they had a third brother, she should try hanging out and getting together with him instead. The black haired teenager just found that utterly weird and abnormal, so she just declined the offer when they brought it up the first time…except that they brought it up over and over to the point of where the black haired teenager was so annoyed with their persistence that she gave in.

So on Monday, the teenager met the third brother. She was told by her two childhood friends that he had black hair, pale skin, and dark green eyes. The black haired teenager replied jokingly if he was some sort of vampire, but the two childhood friends merely giggled and replied that he wasn't. Instead, they said that because he was now the only single brother of the group, he attracted a lot of attention from the female population. When the black haired teenager raised her eyebrow at this, Momoko responded that it was necessary for her to know in advance, so that way, she could try to get to him before other girls would. Afterward, the black haired teenager rolled her light green eyes in response.

She was supposed to meet him at the park—somewhere on a bench near the large fountain of water that people would always swarm around. When she arrived there, she found a man there, around the age of seventeen or eighteen. Because he had black hair, pale skin, and dark green eyes, she assumed it was him, so she walked over to the man.

When he noticed her presence, he glanced at her from the corner of his piercing eyes. His eyes briefly scanned her, from the top of her body and all the way down before staring back at her face. He made no response other than continuing to stare at her.

The black haired teenager stared back at him with her light green eyes as she frowned. "You Butch?"

"And you're Kaoru?" he replied, raising an eyebrow.

The black haired teenager known as Kaoru nodded in response.

The man known as Butch, on the other hand, continued to stare at her.

Kaoru frowned before narrowing her eyes. "What?"

"Nothing," Butch replied before he stood up and nodded his head in the other direction, indicating that he wanted her to follow him.

Kaoru continued to frown, but she followed him, anyway.

Months then passed, and the two had grown closer in their relationship, except that the two seemingly showed no interest in the other person at all. Kaoru knew that Momoko and Miyako realized this right away. Although Miyako understood the situation, Momoko was insisting that Kaoru should get together with Butch already. Kaoru would respond that they're already friends, but she had no interest in getting together with Butch.

But that was a lie. Kaoru knew better than to lie, especially to Momoko and Miyako, but she did it, anyway.

At this thought, the tomboy couldn't help but throw her pillow toward the ceiling, only to have it fall back on her face. She expected that to happen, but she didn't care. She wasn't supposed to care, for crying out loud. They were just friends, and she knew that. He didn't care about her, and she didn't care about him. It was a weird relationship, but it worked out, nonetheless. Even though they hung out together most of the time, it was how their relationship worked. If Kaoru somehow did something clumsy, then Butch would laugh his ass off; if Butch utterly failed at something, then Kaoru would snicker at him before calling him a total moron. The insults they threw at each other, and the profanity they used—that was how their relationship worked.

Besides, the only reason that Kaoru didn't want to advance was because she was already content with their relationship as it is. She was never the girl to be affectionate like Momoko and Miyako. The tomboy never thought of affection as something necessary to be expressed. Just knowing it alone made much more sense to her. If her relationship with Butch did advance, then what would happen to how they were before? It would poof into thin air, as though it were nothing, and before she'd know it, they'd be acting like two different people—both her and Butch.

Kaoru growled underneath her breath before stomping out of her room and leaving the house angrily. She scowled upon remembering what she saw earlier this week: a girl with Butch. It wasn't just any girl. It was a very feminine female. She wasn't overdressed to the point of where her clothes seemed provocative, but she was dressed like Miyako. In fact, she was dressed a lot better than Miyako. If anything, she was prettier than Miyako, and that was saying something. She was holding onto Butch's arm the entire time, smiling and laughing as she lay her head on Butch's shoulder. Hell, she was even the perfect height for him. What annoyed her even more was the fact that Butch was smiling. Out of all the things she saw, Kaoru never once witnessed a smile on his face—only a grin, if he was amused, or a blank face, which was actually most of the time.

The tomboy growled even more at the memory. She shouldn't care about this at all. She shouldn't care about Butch at all. In fact, this shouldn't even be on her very mind, but it was eating her away, anyway. She knew the reason why. She just didn't want to admit it.

Kaoru only realized this because at the time, she was with Natsuki to head towards their school's soccer field for another challenge between the two. In the middle of their match, Natsuki mentioned of how off Kaoru's game seemed; he knew her well enough to know that something was on her mind. When Natsuki brought up Butch and what they saw, Kaoru flinched. Before the tomboy knew it, Natsuki confessed to her—angrily. Her eyes went wide, and he was narrowing his eyes at her.

"Out of all the guys you fell for, it's him?!" he yelled. "That guy doesn't give one damn about you! He's off with some other girl, isn't he?!"

Kaoru narrowed her eyes. "Shut up, Natsuki. You don't know what the hell—"

"He knows, doesn't he?!"

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

Natsuki glared even more at the tomboy. "I'm talking about your feelings for him!"

"I don't have any feelings for that guy! We're only friends!"

"Just tell him and get it over with, already!"

"Okay, now you're just sputtering nonsense! I told you already that I don't like him! Why the hell are you so insistent—"

"Because I like you, Kaoru! I liked you for all these damn years, but for God's sake, I'm getting sick of being friend-zoned by you every single time when that guy comes around!"

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

Natsuki narrowed his eyes at her even more before lowering his voice. "Whenever he comes around, you look a lot happier than when you're with me."

Kaoru blinked a couple of times at Natsuki, not knowing how to respond. Before she knew it, the brunet scoffed and left her all alone on the soccer field.

At this memory, Kaoru groaned. She finally calmed down because she was now walking around the streets of Tokyo City. The honking cars and swarms of people somehow made her lose her train of thought and her anger. When Kaoru went to confront Natsuki about his feelings for her, the brunet responded that he knew that he would always be friend-zoned by her. Afterward, he stated that he needed some time away from her, and before the tomboy knew it, their friendship ended right then and there. They became distant, and Kaoru merely frowned at this entire ordeal because she knew that if she did the same with Butch, the same thing that happened with her and Natsuki would happen with her and Butch.

She wasn't supposed to care, for God's sake. They're just friends that could care less what would happen with the other. If one got hurt, the other would laugh and mock them. Whether or not they'd help completely depended if the one laughing was in the mood for it.

They were just friends. She's supposed to keep it that way. Hell, she shouldn't care. The point of their friendship was indifference towards the other person's feelings because quite frankly, that's how their relationship worked, damn it! Most people wouldn't even maintain a relationship like this because of the fact that it was too much of a roller coaster; it was too complicated and confusing for two people to even involve themselves like this, especially if they were of the opposite genders.

Oh, but Kaoru and Butch were different. The only way to make this relationship work was though apathy, and if that didn't work, then the constant insulting, teasing, mocking, etc. definitely worked to help their friendship.

The tomboy doesn't even know how she started having feelings for Butch. But then again, she saw that there was no point to having feelings for him, anyway. He was more into girls that were similar to Miyako, or sometimes, a mixture of both Miyako and Momoko. Kaoru was the opposite of the two, for crying out loud.

But then again, she was the only one that understood his sense of humor, even when their insults were thrown at one another. Any other girl that would do something like that would just rage, throw a tantrum, and leave before coming back the next day because she was worried about Butch, or she would end up crying and coming back the next day before apologizing and accepting forgiveness. Kaoru, though? She would just laugh her ass off before jokingly calling Butch one hell of a jackass.

Kaoru growled under her breath. When she saw from a distance that Butch was with that same girl from before, she felt a lump in her throat. The tomboy frowned. Sure, she knew she wasn't as attractive as Miyako, and she wasn't as hyperactive as Momoko. Those two could easily lure people in with their personalities, but with Kaoru? She'd most likely scare them away, unless she would purposely grin at them. But at the same time, she refused to change herself. If she was going to fall for a guy, he had to accept all of her. There was no way in hell she was gonna change herself for someone else. She did that already with Narushima, and the boy ended up being a wimp, for crying out loud. The tomboy was glad that she dumped him after the first date.

Butch was different from other boys that she knew. For instance, he was the first boy that she ever met who just didn't give a damn about what others thought about him. He was also the first boy that she ever met to be a total playboy. Whenever the two hung out and Butch spotted an attractive female, he would always say to Kaoru that he'd be right back before flirting with the girl that piqued his interest. Kaoru didn't mind because she would always roll her eyes and say she didn't really care, but lately, she began to notice that she'd feel a small pang in her chest whenever he'd do something like that.

Kaoru knew that she fell for Butch, but the chance of them being together? It was never gonna happen, especially with that beautiful brunette with Butch. As the tomboy stared at the two from a distance and watched of how the brunette was happily giggling while Butch was smiling, her chest felt another pang. Butch never smiled at her, and yet, here he was, easily throwing one towards this brunette.

Kaoru sighed bitterly. She felt like running back home and curling herself up under her blanket. It was unlike of her to do something like that, but hell, lately, that's all she's felt like doing nowadays. Butch was a playboy that didn't give a damn about anyone but himself (and his brothers, of course). If that was the case, what did that mean about the brunette? Is she just another fling, or is he actually taking her seriously? Judging by Butch's smile, Kaoru couldn't help but think that it was the latter.

Another bitter sigh escaped from her lips. Lately, her sighs were the only way to cope with these new profound feelings instead of unleashing the waterworks.

* * *

"Butch, you're so sweet."

"Not as sweet as you," he replied before whispering, "And it's not just your personality I'm referring to."

The brunette giggled before hugging his arm even tighter. Her cheeks were entirely pink, and a smile adorned her face. Hell, it was obvious that she was one of the most beautiful girls he ever went out on a date with. Her personality wasn't that bad, either. He had his fair share of annoying girls; he even had ones that were really stuck up and bratty.

There was one factor that irked him about this relationship, though: his personality. At least, his personality towards this brunette—and every other girl he was in a relationship with that came before her. Naturally, they all came to him because of how apathetic he was towards almost everything. At one point, though, they would always cry because they could never get through that apathy to get him to care about them. Thus, Butch had to sometimes force himself to start saying sweet lines to the girls, but remain apathetic to them as much as possible.

Honestly, it made him sick. As much as he enjoyed flirting with these females, the minute they started to become serious and even go to the extent of crying, Butch had a choice: dump their ass or put on a facade. He only went with the latter if he was interested enough in the girl to actually do it, such as with this brunette he's with right now. Otherwise, he would've bluntly dumped them, and he wouldn't give a damn if they did cry, anyway. That's how he always is, though, so even if he did lose a girlfriend, it just didn't matter enough to him to start caring. All of his ex-girlfriends were a pain in the ass to deal with; hell, even his current one is one as well.

"Butch, you love me, right?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Butch nonchalantly replied as he stared at a skateboard through the window of a shop they were just about to pass.

"So you don't care about me?"

Butch quickly turned his head to the brunette, only to find that her face was utterly hurt. Now he had a choice: dump her, or use that facade of his. He glanced back towards the skateboard, thinking about how Kaoru would love it. Her previous one broke—courtesy of Butch because he went too far with it one day—and this one he just found looked exactly like it. His dark green eyes traveled back to the beautiful brunette, letting himself stare boringly at her. At first, their dates were fun and interesting, but afterward, he got bored of her and their dates.

It wasn't like with Kaoru. With her, Butch could be his true self without having to show that damn "affectionate" facade that girls were always so hung up over when it came to relationships. He could be an asshole towards her, and she would just be a total bitch back. It was how their relationship worked, and that's how he enjoyed it. If anything, the tomboy was the only girl he could think of that wasn't as annoying—or boring, for that matter—as his ex-girlfriends and his current one.

"Butch…?"

Butch turned his head back at her after staring at the skateboard for some amount of time. He frowned, and at once, his true apathetic character came into view while he stared at the brunette. "Whatever."

"What?"

Butch pulled his arm away before walking towards the skateboard shop.

"B-Butch—"

"We're over," he interrupted before turning his head at her. He watched of how the brunette had tears in her eyes, and just as she was about to say something, he added, "You may be pretty, but you're one hell of a boring woman." When he saw of how she was now crying, he shrugged it off and went into the store, not even bothering to look back at the beautiful brunette that was now running off into the distance. All that went through his mind right now was buying that skateboard for Kaoru. He may be an apathetic dude that doesn't give a damn about what others think, but the least he could do was find a replacement for breaking the tomboy's skateboard.

* * *

Time had passed, and Kaoru found herself sitting at the same bench when she met Butch. She continued to stare at the fountain, wondering if it too was mocking her. All of a sudden, she felt her cell phone vibrate. Taking it out of her pocket and looking at the caller ID, she rolled her eyes and answered the phone. "What do you want, jackass?"

_"That's one hell of a way to respond, you ungrateful bitch."_

Kaoru rolled her eyes. "Shouldn't the king of all assholes be with his girlfriend instead of calling me?"

_"You sure suck at insulting me today. Normally, you'd respond a hell of a lot harsher than that."_

"I don't give a damn. Now, what the hell do you want, you jackass?"

_"Oh, so I'm guessing that the bitch doesn't want what I got for her, then?"_

Kaoru raised an eyebrow, even though she was aware that he couldn't see. "What the hell—"

_"Just turn around before I make you."_

The tomboy turned around to find that there was Butch, who was standing right behind her. He then held up a replica of her skateboard, and at this, she couldn't help but break out into a large smile. At once, she grabbed the skateboard and hugged it tightly against her chest before turning to Butch.

"No need to thank me," he replied before breaking out into a grin. "I did it because I broke your old skateboard. Figured you'd love this one."

"Hell yes, I do! How did you find one like it, anyway?! Its design isn't even in stores now!"

"I got lucky," Butch replied, grinning still. "Found it in a skateboard shop that my ex and I passed by."

"Ex?"

"I dumped my girlfriend," Butch replied as he rolled his eyes, letting his true character as an apathetic person surface.

Kaoru frowned. "But I thought…"

"Thought what?" At this point, Butch was raising a calm eyebrow at her.

The tomboy hesitated. She didn't want to let him know about her feelings towards him, so she stated, "I thought that you were serious about her."

Butch scoffed before grinning. "The girl was good-looking, but she was boring. I admit that she interested me, but keeping up that stupid facade is annoying."

"Facade?" Kaoru asked out loud, even though she didn't mean to. Now she was really confused. She thought all this time that he was serious about the brunette, only to find that he was never serious with her in the first place. That, of course, meant that the discovery about her feelings for him was pretty much pointless. Nothing was going to change, even if he dumped that brunette. They would continue the same routine and have fun with each other, but their relationship would never change. Kaoru knew that, and at this thought, she couldn't help but frown.

"Kaoru? Hey, Kaoru. Hello? Little Miss Bitch gonna respond or what?"

"Shut up, you asshole," Kaoru replied, narrowing her eyes as she broke out from her train of thoughts. She held her skateboard even more tightly towards her chest. The fact that he bought it just for her somehow gave her that warm feeling inside, but she reminded herself that she shouldn't care. Their relationship should remain like this, no matter what.

Butch chuckled before breaking out into a grin. "She responded. I thought that you zoned out on me like that clueless redhead friend of yours."

Kaoru rolled her eyes, but she stayed silent before staring at Butch.

Butch, on the other hand, stared right back, having that apathetic look on his face once more. "What? Something on my face?"

"I'm just wondering why you broke up with that girl."

Butch shrugged. "I told you already. She was good-looking, but her personality was way too mundane for me. The first date was okay, but everything after that was a complete bore."

"What about that facade you mentioned?"

"Girls like it when apathetic guys show them their sweet side. I either dump them once the waterworks come, or I show them that facade I mentioned. Why are you even asking, anyway?"

"No reason," Kaoru replied before breaking out into a smile. "Thanks for buying me the skateboard. I really appreciate it."

At this, Butch couldn't help but stare. "Who are you, and what the hell have you done with Kaoru?"

Kaoru laughed at this in response.

"Wait a minute… Don't tell me Little Miss Bitch is actually taking an interest in me now." At this comment, Butch couldn't help but grin at the tomboy. He meant it jokingly, of course, but when he saw for the first time that a blush appeared on her face, the grin slowly dissipated from his face. From all of the time he knew her, he never once saw the tomboy blush. Sure, he had seen her smile at least once, and that caught him off guard the first time, but this blush threw him off guard even more than her smile.

"Like I would be interested in you, asshole," Kaoru replied, rolling her eyes as she placed her skateboard down on the ground.

Butch began to take note of other features about her, but what he couldn't help but stare at was her face. Even now, she was still blushing. He blinked before calmly stating, "Holy shit, you really do like me."

"No, I don't," Kaoru replied, narrowing her eyes.

"I know that blush from anywhere. I've seen it on my ex-girlfriends—"

"Yeah, well, I'm not them, okay? So don't you dare compare me to them."

Butch continued to stare at Kaoru, who was now no longer blushing, but glaring at him instead. He watched her facial expressions, especially when she scoffed, and just as she was about to skate away, he held onto her wrist. He was already content with their relationship as it is, but he knew her better than that. That kind of blush he saw—it wasn't something out of embarrassment. He knew the tomboy much better than that. That's why he needed to make sure.

"Do you like me?" he asked, staring at her. His face was completely blank as he stared at the tomboy.

Kaoru stared back before stating, "So what if I do? It wouldn't matter, anyway, because you'll find some other pretty girl to be your girlfriend."

He couldn't help but stare blankly. The one girl that he could actually hang out without having to put up that stupid facade ended up having feelings for him. He honestly didn't know how else to react, so he just continued staring at her, letting his apathetic personality take place.

Kaoru sighed. "Just forget what I said, all right? I don't want things to be awkward between the two of us. Anyway, I'm gonna head home now." The tomboy then got on her skateboard, and just as she was about to skate away, Butch pulled her back, letting her fall into his arms as a small yelp escaped from her lips.

"The bitch shouldn't leave until we sort things out," Butch replied as he looked down at her.

"The asshole should let me go before his ass will get kicked," Kaoru replied back, frowning.

At once, Butch did—only to let Kaoru fall flat on her bottom. He snickered as the tomboy glared at him. This was another reason why he loved hanging out with her. If he did this with any of his previous girlfriends, they would've cried, and they sure as hell wouldn't react like Kaoru.

"You freaking jackass!" Kaoru yelled.

"Back at you, bitch," Butch replied, grinning.

"Shut up," she growled.

"Never. The bitch should be happy that she got a skateboard courtesy of the asshole, yes?"

"Oh, shut the hell up already!"

Butch let out another chuckle before he then suddenly asked, "So, have your friends been bothering you?"

"About?"

"Getting together with me."

Kaoru narrowed her eyes while raising an eyebrow.

"You know, my brothers have been bothering me as well," he stated as he walked closer to her. "They've been saying that the two of us should get together already."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Kaoru replied harshly.

Butch shrugged. "Just thought that maybe they're right—that maybe we should give each other a chance."

Kaoru widened her eyes at this before backing away.

At this, Butch couldn't help but frown. As much as he hated to admit it, although he didn't care about anything, he found himself caring about one more thing: Kaoru. If she were to reject him now, their relationship would never be the same. There would always be that awkward tension. As much as Butch hated to admit it, he'd actually care if she was gone. After all, she was one of the few people he could unleash his inner self as an apathetic asshole, and somehow, they got along that way.

"I don't know," Kaoru replied softly. "My friendship with Natsuki just pretty much ended earlier this week."

"Why's that?"

Kaoru hesitated. "He confessed to me that he liked me. He mentioned that I seemed happier with you than when I was with him, even though…you know." The tomboy shrugged, knowing fully well that Butch got the message, so she continued, "Anyway, we got into a bit of an argument. Afterward, when I tried to talk to him about it, he would just avoid me… Now, our friendship is pretty much over."

"I don't see why that's the reason you're hesitating."

"On what?"

"Us being together. I don't mind that idea."

Kaoru widened her eyes. "How?! Don't you get it?! If we're in a relationship, we won't be the same ever again!"

Butch shrugged. "So?"

"'So?!' What do you mean by 'so?!' I don't want this relationship to change, damn it!" Kaoru sighed, biting her lip slightly before stating softly, "I just don't want our friendship to change into something so different that we won't recognize each other anymore. I…I like our friendship the way it is already. Our bickering, our insults… I just don't want it to change."

"Who said it won't?"

Kaoru looked at Butch dumbfounded. "We'll be a couple."

Butch shrugged.

"How does this not bother you?!"

"Because I don't see any point stressing over it."

At this comment, Kaoru couldn't help but shut up and stay silent.

Butch stared at the tomboy some more before asking, "How did you start liking me, anyway?"

The tomboy shrugged. "I don't know. I shouldn't even be caring about this, anyway—"

"Why not?"

"Because our relationship has always been full of apathy, insults, mockery—"

"So, you're saying you don't want to give us a chance? I mean, bitch, I gave you a skateboard, so you may as well give me a chance," Butch stated, letting a grin show on his face at the last sentence.

Kaoru's eyes widened. "But—"

"If you don't give me a chance, I will make you, and trust me, you don't want to see my flirtatious side."

"I've already seen it, asshole," Kaoru replied as she glared at him.

"Towards others, but not you," Butch whispered before smirking. He then grinned before adding, "I'm actually interested in making you blush again, you know."

Kaoru narrowed her eyes at him. "If I agree, will you shut up and let me go home?"

Butch nodded while grinning.

Kaoru sighed. "Fine."

"Say it like you mean it because I know that you have feelings for me."

Kaoru hesitated, feeling uncomfortable under Butch's gaze. "I'll…go out with you." At once, she added quickly, "But this doesn't mean anything, so don't get any smart ideas!"

Butch stared at her once more, watching of how Kaoru's cheeks went from pink to red in mere moments. He smirked and added, "I'm definitely gonna enjoy going out with you."

"You're not supposed to care, you asshole!"

"Oh, but I'm already caring, you damn bitch."

"Bastard."

"Once a bitch, always a bitch."

Kaoru glared at him before skateboarding away.

Once she was finally in the distance, Butch yelled, "I'll pick you up tomorrow at your place at around eleven!" He wasn't sure if Kaoru flinched or not, but once hearing her angry reply with her long string of insults and curses, he couldn't help but grin.

After all, he enjoyed being with the tomboy for a reason.

* * *

Ever since that day, the two were happy with each other—other than Kaoru's annoyance at Butch's apathy, or her annoyance with his sudden flirtatious lines. She was sure that it was a way for her to feel flustered, and unfortunately for her, Butch's plan definitely succeeded. Kaoru's friends, Momoko and Miyako, and Butch's brothers, Brick and Boomer, were happy upon hearing this set of news.

Of course, their status as a couple never stopped their insults and mockery.

"Fuck you, you damn bastard."

"Bitch, if you're the one that's doing it, I don't mind."

"You…freaking… _jackass!_ "

"Love you too, you freaking bitch."

And it's only afterward that Kaoru would unleash a string of curses and insults at Butch, who would only annoy her even more with his apathy. Most people would find this relationship to be rather weird, but for these two, it worked just perfectly for them—until Butch's sexual advances went too far.

"What the hell?! Did you just—"

"Grope you? Hell yeah, I did. I was just trying to get a feel of my girlfriend's ass, that's all."

"You asshole! I should _kick_ your ass!"

In the end, though, the both of them knew that they were a perfect match for each other. He was the apathetic dude, and she was the hot-tempered tomboy. Somehow, their chemistry worked for each other because after all, Kaoru was the only girl that Butch wanted to keep around for a very long time.


End file.
